Kohima: A total of 676 persons, including medical students and families affected by violent incidents in Manipur, returned to Nagaland on Sunday after 22 buses along with the state police force and Assam Rifles were deployed for evacuation.
During a short welcome ceremony that was held at Inspector General of Assam Rifles (IGAR) North headquarters in Kohima, deputy chief minister Yanthungo Patton informed that 650 persons are yet to be evacuated.
While urging those stranded to be patient, Patton told reporters that on Monday, 14 buses will be sent to evacuate more people.
“Till we evacuate all who are stranded in Manipur, we will continue the evacuation process and send buses accordingly,” Patton said.
Patton said that due to the high number of stranded persons, chartered flights could not be arranged for evacuation. As such, the government strategically planned and deployed road transport for evacuation, he said.
IGAR (N) Vikas Lakhera, while addressing the gathering, said, “When we undertake such a task, we take responsibility for you all and are answerable to your parents. It may take a little more time but finally it is our responsibility to bring you back home.”
He informed that for those stranded, the Assam rifles will get back to work by Monday morning and continue the evacuation.
Director General of Police (DGP) Nagaland Rupin Sharma said that to ensure the safety of those stranded, proper planning and executives were made to evacuate hundreds of persons.
He also announced that Deputy CM and minister in-charge of the Home Department, Yanthungo Patton has given an immediate relief amount of Rs 5,000 each for students/families.
Five busses were arranged by the state government and 30 self-paid taxis were arranged for persons returning to Dimapur.
It was learnt that on Saturday, 17 buses were initially deployed along with two police platoons-one mahila and one IR battalion, and later five more buses were sent, tallying the number of buses to 22.
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As the evacuation process was halted at Senapati in Manipur, the Assam Rifles intervened and the stranded persons who returned were evacuated from Imphal early on Saturday morning.
Under high security, the stranded persons returned to the state capital on Saturday noon.
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